Property help for Retford first time buyers

First time buyers in Retford will be given help to get onto the property ladder thanks to a home builder and a government scheme.

Strata, that has with a development on Ollerton Road, is celebrating being one of the first home builders in the region to offer the government’s FirstBuy scheme.

It will provide £1.9million for shared equity loans to help more than 140 struggling first time buyers secure new homes.

The scheme will be offered on homes ranging from £64,950 to £265,950 across all of its 11 developments.

Under the FirstBuy scheme – which aims to help those who cannot afford the deposit needed for a mortgage – Strata and the Government will jointly provide a 20 per cent loan to top up purchasers’ own four per cent deposit. This means that first time buyers can now secure a 76 per cent mortgage at a very low cost – allowing them to own 100 per cent of their own home.

Strata’s managing director Andrew Weaver said: “It’s great to have secured FirstBuy funding. 56 per cent of our purchasers are first time buyers and so we’re delighted that this scheme will allow us to extend a helping hand to even more people looking to get onto the ladder.”

FirstBuy applies to households with a joint annual income of less than £60,000 and is only available on new build homes.